The Three Corniches

The Three Corniches

The lay of the land east of Nice is nearly vertical, as the coastline is one great cliff, a corniche terraced by three parallel highways—the Corniche Inférieure (sometimes called the Basse Corniche and N98), the Moyenne Corniche (N7), and the Grande Corniche (D2564)—that snake along its graduated crests.

The lowest (inférieure) is the slowest, following the coast and crawling through the main streets of resorts, including downtown Monte Carlo. Villefranche, Cap-Ferrat, and Beaulieu are some of the towns located along this 20-mi-long highway. The highest (grande) is the fastest, but its panoramic views are blocked by villas, and there are few safe overlooks (this is the highway Grace Kelly roared along in To Catch a Thief, and some 27 years later, crashed and died on). The middle (moyenne) offers views down over the shoreline and villages and passes through a few picturesque cliff-top towns, including Èze.